DANBURY, Conn. – The Alfred University women's basketball team wrapped up the 2019 calendar year with an 80-52 loss to Western Connecticut State University, in the championship game of the Hat City Tournament inside Feldman Arena Monday afternoon.
 
AU heads into 2020 with a 4-6 record. West Conn improves to 5-6.
 
For the second consecutive game, first-year guard Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) led the Saxons in scoring with 13 points, adding six rebounds and two steals. Ion was named to the Hat City Tournament's All-Tournament Team. Junior guard Gillian Flint (Caledonia, N.Y./Caledonia-Mumford) added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, adding four rebounds. Samantha Pierre-Louis (Wheatley Heights, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) tallied a near double-double coming off the bench, with eight points (4-of-6 from the field) and nine rebounds. The Saxons shot 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field.
 
Hat City Tournament MVP Gabrielle Hurlbert led the hosts with 21 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Katelyn Fanning added 11 points. The Colonials shot 41.5 percent (34-of-82) from the field, and more importantly, forced 27 Saxon turnovers due to the full court press defense.

"Today was a great opportunity for us playing in such a high-paced, chaotic environment," said head coach Mike Moskowitz. "When you face a team like West Conn, you're being pressured and trapped everywhere you look. I thought we got some good looks out of our press break offensively. Defensively, you kind of have to pick your poison against a run-and-gun team like this. I'm really proud of our persistence in sticking with it and working together when we had our rough stretches. Overall, a great experience on and off the court this weekend for our team."

The game was played at a frenetic pace early on as the Saxons and the Colonials traded leads. A 6-2 run capped off by a layup by senior forward Bri Hicks (Burlington, Vt./Ithaca) gave the visitors a three-point, 9-6 lead. From there, the West Conn defense forced a few Alfred turnovers, as the hosts flipped the lead with a 15-2 run in the final 6:15. AU found themselves trailing by double-digits, 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.
 
West Conn stretched its lead out to 13 (24-11) before AU began chipping away. A pair of free throws by junior guard Amanda Figueroa (Cypress, Texas/Rosehill Christian) and an Ion layup reduced the AU deficit to as few as six points (33-27) at the 1:39 mark of the second quarter. A last-minute layup by West Conn's Jasmine Caldwell gave the hosts a 35-27 lead at the half.
 
The second half was all West Conn as the Colonials scored six straight points, extending the lead to 14. Pierre-Louis scored off an offensive rebound at the midway point to reduce the deficit to 12 (43-31), but it was as close as the Saxons could get the rest of the way. West Conn outscored Alfred by a 17-10 margin the rest of the quarter, holding a 19-point, 60-41 lead after three. The Saxons opened the quarter with five straight points but were outscored 20-6 to end the game.
 
Alfred will begin 2020 with its final non-conference contest of the regular season, a road trip to SUNY New Paltz on Jan. 7 at 4 p.m.